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Read one verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with its Sanskrit, word meanings, translation and study points.

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Canto 2 · The Cosmic Manifestation · 10 chapters

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How to study this verse, in six steps
  1. 1Chant the verse. Say the Sanskrit slowly and carefully.
  2. 2Read the word meanings. Go through each Sanskrit word and its meaning.
  3. 3Find the meaning yourself. Before the translation, piece the meaning together from the words.
  4. 4Read the translation. Ask: what is the Lord teaching here, and how does it apply to my life?
  5. 5Read the purport slowly. Read it two or three times. Don't rush.
  6. 6Write down what touched you. Note the main points in your own notebook.
Read the full guide: how to hear the Bhāgavatam ›
Canto 2 · Chapter 7: Scheduled Incarnations with Specific Functions
2.7.202.7.22

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 2.7.21

Poṣaṇa· The Lord's protection
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Lord Brahmāsince 2.7.1inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitLord Brahmā → Nārada Muni

धन्वन्तरिश्च भगवान् स्वयमेव कीर्ति-

र्नाम्ना नृणां पुरुरुजां रुज आशु हन्ति ।

यज्ञे च भागममृतायुरवावरुन्ध

आयुष्यवेदमनुशास्त्यवतीर्य लोके ॥ २१ ॥

dhanvantariś ca bhagavān svayam eva kīrtir

nāmnā nṛṇāṁ puru-rujāṁ ruja āśu hanti

yajñe ca bhāgam amṛtāyur-avāvarundha

āyuṣya-vedam anuśāsty avatīrya loke

Translation

The Lord in His incarnation of Dhanvantari very quickly cures the diseases of the ever-diseased living entities simply by His fame personified, and only because of Him do the demigods achieve long lives. Thus the Personality of Godhead becomes ever glorified. He also exacted a share from the sacrifices, and it is He only who inaugurated the medical science or the knowledge of medicine in the universe.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
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Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Lord Heals Material Existence

  1. 1

    Medical science also comes from the Personality of Godhead, the ultimate source of everything. He inaugurated it as Dhanvantari, and this knowledge is recorded in the Vedas.

  2. 2

    The embodied living entity is subject to disease by the very construction of the body. Diseases differ, but disease, birth, and death accompany material life.

  3. 3

    The Lord’s grace brings relief not only from bodily and mental diseases but also from repeated birth and death. His name is called bhavauṣadhi, the source of curing the disease of material existence.

Key points from the purport
  • As stated in the beginning of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, everything emanates from the ultimate source of the Personality of Godhead; it is therefore understood in this verse that medical science or knowledge in medicine was also inaugurated by the Personality of Godhead in His incarnation Dhanvantari, and thus the knowledge is recorded in the Vedas.
  • The Vedas are the source of all knowledge, and thus knowledge in medical science is also there for the perfect cure of the diseases of the living entity.
  • So, by the grace of the Personality of Godhead, not only are diseases of the body and mind cured, but also the soul is relieved of the constant repetition of birth and death.

Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

How it feels

Uncertainty → Awe. The scale of reality widens dramatically.

Chapters 4–7 of Canto 2: The creation, cosmic Person and incarnations. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 7: Scheduled Incarnations with Specific Functions

Brahmā recounts the Lord’s incarnations and explains that unalloyed surrender enables one to understand Him.

Back to this verse in chapter 2.7
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. dhanvantariḥthe incarnation of God named Dhanvantari
  2. caand
  3. bhagavānthe Personality of Godhead
  4. svayam evapersonally Himself
  5. kīrtiḥfame personified
  6. nāmnāby the name
  7. nṛṇām puru-rujāmof the diseased living entities
  8. rujaḥdiseases
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Key ideas in this verse

The subject this verse serves and the themes it speaks of.

  • Poṣaṇa · Protection by the Lord

    How does the Lord care for His devotees? · Subject 4 of 10

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 2.7

    In this verse: “knowledge”

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

    Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 2.7

    In this verse: “glorified”

  • Kṛpā · Divine mercy

    Grace received beyond material calculations. · Theme in SB 2.7

    In this verse: “grace”

Chapter themes come from the story phase this chapter belongs to.

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Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Do I seek only bodily relief, or also freedom from repeated birth and death through the Lord’s grace?

Practice

Spend one quiet minute repeating the Lord’s name, remembering its power to relieve the disease of material existence.

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The story around it

The stories this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayThe Lord Heals Material ExistenceThis verse's lesson: one practice and one question for today

Study points are short summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport on Vedabase.

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